


A Creation's Pain

by TheSilentCzar



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie Comic), Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games)
Genre: Afterlife, Canonical Character Death, Death, Fan Characters, Immortality, Immortals, M/M, Suicidal Thoughts, Team Dark (Sonic the Hedgehog) - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-20
Updated: 2020-02-21
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:34:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 18,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22815505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSilentCzar/pseuds/TheSilentCzar
Summary: "Immortality --- A fate worse than Death" - Edgar A. ShoaffShadow has this quote ingrained into his mind. His immortality has forced him to watch the love of his life, Sonic The Hedgehog, wither away and die right in front of him. With his son and Brother the only company available, the Ultimate Lifeform falls into an inescapable depression, trying to bury his troubles in Whiskey and work. Until one day, he learns of a way out. A way to be with his beloved. A way to end this nightmare.A chance to die.
Relationships: E-123 Omega & Shadow the Hedgehog, Rouge the Bat & Shadow the Hedgehog, Shadow the Hedgehog/Sonic the Hedgehog
Comments: 27
Kudos: 66





	1. Time

**BEEP**

Time

**BEEP**

Time is a cruel mistress.

**BEEP**

Time had slowly drained the life out of the one he loved.

**BEEP**

Once bright cobalt fur was engulfed by dull light blue and grey hair. His emerald green eyes, the very ones he had so often fallen in love with, that remained hidden under his resting eyelids, grew weak and tired. When he looked into them, he still saw the blue hero who stole his heart that day 75 years ago, but he also saw someone whose days; of running free in the wind, smashing badniks and saving the world were long gone. They showed him both clinging to life, hoping for one last day on Earth and happiness that such a full, almost regret-free life is over.

**BEEP**

His famous legs, that had managed to endure battle after battle were now barely able to allow him to stand. Rendering the once movement-oriented hedgehog bedridden. Shadow could not bear to see his love in this state. Every time he saw him, it broke his heart, watching someone you care about slowly wither away. Vines of white tubes connected to all manner of IV drips and machines worked tirelessly to keep Sonic alive. Shadow had spent decades trying to find a way to ensure his own immortality could be shared with Sonic too. He got the best engineers from the Miles Prowler Institute of Engineering to make some kind of contraption to prolong Sonic’s life, or better yet to reverse the ageing process. An act of futility.

**BEEP BEEP**

Tears began to flood out of Shadow’s eyes, as he started to sob. Shadow wished the others could be here, to be able to see their hero...their friend...their brother, in his final moments. To be there and give him as much comfort as possible. But that would never happen. Everyone else was gone, any extended family of either Sonic or his friends were unavailable. There were only four people in the room, including Sonic. To the three immortals, Sonic meant different things. To Shadow; Sonic was his world, the shining light at the end of the tunnel...a light which was about to be snuffed out. He taught him was it was like to live, to move past the trauma he had endured in his life and to look into the future.

**BEEP BEEP**

To Ivan; Sonic was the bravest most heroic comrade he had ever known. Sonic was more of a champion to the people than he ever would be, Ivan once said of him, "What an amazing comrade he is, what a prue man." The former soldier had special dog tags made for Sonic. Despite never being a military man himself, the blue blur wore them every day since he got them. The inscription read: ‘Для самой быстрой вещи в живых. Sonic The Hedgehog.’ Even in this state, the cold metal still rested on his bare chest.

**BEEP BEEP**

To Shade; Sonic was the best Papa he could ever have. Every time he got into a scrape, every time he hurt his knee...every time he misbehaved, Sonic was there to help. He’d show him how to befriend those who hated him, how to run properly to avoid injury and to teach him not to break the rules. But through it all, Sonic smiled. He was one of the best parents you could ever have, he was loving and carefree. Always open to spending time with you unless it was an emergency.

**BEEP BEEP BEEP**

His smile was a unique one, the kind only one person every 1000 years would have. It could convey dozens of emotions all at the same time. It was the kind of smile that filled people with joy, hope, will or any combination of them. As Sonic’s eyes opened gently, he looked at the trio standing over his bed and gave that cocky smile of his. Shadow’s lips quivered as his grip on his hand tightened. Shadow refused to let go. Sonic gently rested his other hand on Shadow’s that smile still on his face. Tears formed to match Shadow’s but they weren’t out of the sadness which came from the end of his own life, rather worry about how Shadow will survive without him.

**BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP**

“S...Shadow…”

**BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP**

“Sonic...I’m...I...I’m sorry...I’m sorry I couldn’t save you. Please...stay...I’m begging you! DON’T LEAVE US!”

**BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP**

“Shadow...I’ll...be...up there...I promise...I’ll...I’ll wait for you...I’ll watch you. Take care...of this world...for me. Please...do it for me...faker…”

**BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP**

“I...I promise.”

**BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP**

“Sonic.”

**BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP**

“...I love you.”

**BBBBBBBBBBBEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP**

That was the longest second in Shadow’s life. The moment the last remnants of Sonic’s livelihood drained out of his face, the world froze for Shadow. The sympathetic look of his family, the swarm of locust like news crews and crowds outside, the last ray of sunlight Sonic would ever see. All these tiny details became important information to Shadow, like if he could just figure out the connection then he could solve the mystery. As Sonic’s eyes closed, that cocky grin still on his face, Shadow broke down. His arms wrapped around Sonic’s entire body, squeezing him as a newborn would to their mother, tears flooded down his face creating rivers on his cheeks. Shade and Ivan simply watched he pleaded and begged Sonic to wake up, praying that this was all some elaborate prank and that Shadow’s efforts were not futile. That Sonic would go back to being his normal self. But...it soon became clear.

He was gone.

Shadow reluctantly started unplugging the machines and laying the duvet over Sonic’s face. Shade grabbed Shadow’s hand, gently holding onto it. The Ultimate Lifeform weakly stood up, his legs wobbling and his arms trembling. Shadow had to be stabilized by Shade, carrying him as if his legs refused to work. The three left the room, heads looking down at the ground as they slowly went downstairs. A couple of reporters, who had somehow managed to enter the house, began to bombard them with questions about funeral arrangements, how they are feeling and what they plan to do next. “These ‘people’”, thought Shadow, “have the nerve...to try and get a headline or newspaper quote out of me?! RIGHT AFTER MY FUCKING HUSBAND DIED?! ALL FOR A FUCKING ARTICLE?!?!” Shadow felt the Chaos Energy build up in his body, he so desperately wanted to discharge it in the form of a Chaos Blast and wipe these parasites off the face of the Earth.

Shade placed a gentle hand on Shadow’s shoulder, rubbing it to calm him down. Shadow looked up at his son, his attention went straight into Shade’s eyes. He had his Papa’s eyes. Why did he have to have HIS eyes? The tears flowed more, a piece of Sonic lived inside of Shade...in those eyes and that smile. But rather than telling him that ‘the day was saved’, his eyes said to him ‘everything is going to be okay’ and ‘I’m here for you, Dad’. Shadow held onto his son’s hand as Ivan forced the reporters out of the building and told the ones outside to leave. (Making it clear that they had no say in the matter.) Once they all left, Ivan locked the door and joined Shade in comforting Shadow.

“Dad...are you okay?” The Ultimate Lifeform shook his head, there was no point in lying. His arms wrapped around Shade, almost as tight as they were around Sonic. “...Dad...I...I don’t know what to say. But...I know...that Papa would want you...to be happy. To smile. Even if...I can’t do that every day, I’m going to do everything I can to help. It’s what a good son would do.” Shade looked into Shadow’s eyes and smiled, the Ultimate Lifeform nodded once again holding his son.

“Y...Your Papa would be proud.” Ivan hugged them both, keeping his eyes closed and his voice silent. He did not need to say anything, action was needed...not speeches. Shadow’s sobs died down slightly, he made an audible sniff before looking over at the elder hedgehog that was his older brother.

“I...Ivan?”

“...Yes, brother?”

“How...how do you cope?... With...this…” He gestured to the general area that was their house.

Ivan sighed and placed a hand on Shadow’s, “I do not know. Time heals all wounds, I suppose.”

Time?

Time is no healer of wounds

**Time is a cruel mistress**


	2. A Message

100 years later

The two hedgehogs stood in front of the cold grave. The half-oval stuck out of the grass that surrounded it, in the very middle of a long row of dozens of other graves. This tombstone was simple; there was no fancy statue, no face of the deceased carved in, nothing like that. The big statue that was proudly presented in the Central City Cemetery was little more than a monument if you dug up the grave itself you’d find the coffin empty. This gravestone had signs of mould and dead plant matter all over as nature tried to tear it down. Shadow and the others would never allow that to happen, they cut these out by the roots last week. Delaying the plant’s goal be at least a few more months. The rest of the graves bore the names of those they held dear. Names like ‘Rouge, Knuckles, Tails’ were on those stones so that no matter what...they would all be together. But that was not why they were there...the two knew exactly why they had come. They did pay respect to the others, of course, Shade took the longest with the grave of the woman who birthed him. If not for her looking past her obsessions, he would never be here. But the pair came to a complete stop at the centre most gravestone.

This was his real resting place, a small private graveyard on a piece of land Shadow had inherited. He had promised that they’d all be buried here, rather than in some tourist trap. Engraved in the stone was the phase:

Here Lies Sonic The Hedgehog 

A loving father, a caring husband, a true hero 

And the Fastest Thing Alive. 

1991-2087

That last line always brought tears to Shadow’s eyes. The Ultimate Lifeform gently placed a bouquet of flowers in front of the grave, they were blue Forget-Me-Nots. His favourites. Sonic did always have a sense of irony. He gave a sad chuckle before patting the top of the gravestone.

“Hey, Sonic...Hope Maria’s treating you well.” He let out a quiet sigh as a gentle breeze replied to his words. “Sorry Ivan couldn’t be here, he was busy...suppose I can’t blame him after last year. (Plus...it is his turn to tend to you.) But...he gives his best.” He did his best to contain himself, making an audible sniff as he tried to hold back the tears. Shadow soon continued with his words. “Things have been...alright. Still got that old whiskey from our 20th anniversary...if I knew seeing into the future was your superpower I’d have listened to you more often. Work is...work I suppose. I got offered the position of GUN Commander again, gave them the same reply. Don’t need an increase in pay.” Shadow sighed, looking over at his son, “Shade? You got anything to say?”

The hedgehog nodded, his green eyes looked at the grave. “Hope everything is going well Papa.” Shade looked over at Shadow, “Could I...have some...privacy?” The Ultimate Lifeform reluctantly nodded, going to wait by the entrance to the cemetery. He looked down at the grave, “Like I said last time...Dad’s not...taking it so well. Don’t be mad papa, I’ve tried...really I’ve tried everything. I’ve talked to him, therapy, tried to get him into some hobbies but...every time he starts to get better he...relapses. Only thing I haven’t tried is...dating...but...no, just no.” He knelt down, so he was ‘face to face’ with the gravestone. “He just drowns himself in whiskey and his work, at least the work he’s doing is good. Being a GUN Agent may not be what you had in mind but...it helps him vent out his rage, plus he is doing his part to save the world.” Shade wiped away the tears forming on his eyes, “We...we need you, Papa...Dad needs you.”

The young hedgehog stood up, walking towards Shadow with his hands in his pockets. “You off to work?” Shadow nodded, “Alright. Text me when you’re on your way back I’ll make you something to eat.” The Ultimate Lifeform sped off in a streak on black and red without another word. Shade sighed, looking back at his Papa’s grave, “...I could really use one of your talks right now.”

\--------------------

Shadow approached the large Brutalist, Totalitarian structure in front of him. The Banner’s of GUN hung on the front of the building as guard towers and patrols kept unwanted visitors outside. The old hedgehog walked towards the large front entrance, he nonchalantly waved his ID card vaguely in the direction of the scanners. It was merely a formality, everyone knew who he was. He walked down the long, seemingly empty hallway, his footsteps echoed when they hit the cold concrete floor. The long since defunct jet boots trampled over the GUN logo on the floor as he entered the large ‘Strategic Command Centre’.

It was both the most changed and most unchanging room in the entire complex. The large map of the world remained plastered on the wall. It was green, with a glowing outline of the various nations in the world. Strategic targets were highlighted with big white blips, connected to them was a small summary of information about them; location, threat level, suggested course of action, etc. There were a dozen of these blips all over the world, the hedgehog paid no mind. There were rows and rows of computers, each scanning through information and adding it to the wheels of bureaucracy to be churned up or lost. That had never changed but the technology did. What once were physical notes and pins were now digital representations of those things, the army of interns and IT specialists were all replaced by machines and programs. Shadow preferred it, more efficiently and fewer looks of shock at the fact THE Shadow The Hedgehog was walking past them. He soon came to his office, Shadow swiped his keycard to allow the door to open.

The hedgehog entered and locked the door behind him, breathing in deeply in order to take in the aroma of the room. The smells of whiskey and grease combined into a uniquely thick aroma. The bland grey walls’ only decoration was that of some mandatory propaganda posters, calling for him to ‘work hard’, ‘defend the world with your life’ and ‘remember the fallen’. A slightly pale patch on the wall acted as the corpse of the photo which formerly hung there. He did his best to ignore it as if the cocky smile and green eyes still watched him. A tall grandfather clock leaned against the wall, its hands unmoving, forever displaying the time as 7:45 pm. The large oak desk sat in the very centre of the room’s brown carpet, the vein-like patterns covered the desk’s skin. Its defiant legs stood strong unlike most of his possessions from that time, his chair and its green leather cushion were similarly sturdy. His desk bore a few items, there were framed medals that he had been given over the years. Or more accurately the most recent three medals he was given, if he had every medal he was awarded on his desk there would be no desk. Only Medals. There was also a few large paperback books, they were thick and the kind of things Knuckles would have used on an arm day. Shadow immediately flushed any thoughts of his former friends out of his head. He walked over and sat down, the leather cushioning squeaked and creaked, Shadow let out a sigh before flipping on the two most important devices on his desk. The coffee machine and Omega. As Omega began to boot up, Shadow downed his coffee before looking at his robotic friend.

With his physical body long since destroyed, Shadow only had his head left. Omega had sacrificed his original body in order to save Rouge’s life from a Terrorist’s RPG. Since then Omega’s body had gone through so many repairs and replacements that it was hardly his original body. The only piece they had not replaced at all was his head and the AI core within it. The yellow turtle shell-like head turned on with a loud bootup noise, his glowing red eyes slowly came online. They flashed slightly as Omega oriented himself as if he was blinking.

[Greetings, Shadow] Said Omega, despite only being a head, he maintained his loud robotic voice.

“Hey Omega, how are you feeling today?” He said before opening the top drawer of his desk, grabbing a small glass and a bottle of whiskey. Shadow placed both on his desk in front of Omega and poured himself a glass.

[All systems functioning normally]

“That good I suppose.” Shadow put the bottle down and took a sip of the whiskey. It had a very strong, earthy taste, providing the briefest respite from his pain. “What’s new in the world of GUN?”

Omega’s eyes flashed as he searched through information. [You have received two new messages and several possible missions]

“Read the messages”

[First Message: Agent Shadow, this is Commander Desmond. I’m aware that today is the annivers-]

“Skip.” He said almost instinctively before the Command’s message could even finish, he knew what it was going to say. He’d heard it a hundred times before. Omega read out the messages and briefings in his name emotionless voice, it was slightly amusing to Shadow. He gave a slight smirk before taking a swig from his glass.

[Second Message: Agent. Listen carefully, I’ve dug up some old files you will be interested in. Proper black book, redacted level stuff, saying any further would be bad. Just ask Omega to provide you the details on ‘Mission Briefing: SA-2001’. Sincerely, A Well Wisher.]

This did indeed gain Shadow’s attention, such was a rare feat. “Omega, pull up Mission Briefing: SA-2001.”

[Affirmative...accessing file.] Shadow noticed his glass as empty after that last ‘swig’. As he poured the next glass, Omega was finished. [Project Shadow: Contingency.] He took a swig out of the now full glass before gesturing for Omega to continue. [Experiment Log, Date 22nd April, 1951.] Shadow winced slightly, he knew exactly who it was that made this report. Even Omega’s voice could not mask Shadow’s own creator. Even since that day 100 years ago, Shadow slowly began to resent Gerald. For giving him this curse, to watch as those he cared about turned to dust while he and his family stood eternal. Forever unchanging. [Project Shadow has moved along quite well, thus far all bodily functions appear to be working normally. I am certain that he will not only be able to provide the cure for but also protect Maria.] The mention of that name made Shadow flinch, Omega stopped talking to allow Shadow some time to process this. The hedgehog breathed deeply through his nose, wiping away the tears which formed to remind him of his first loss. [Are you feeling emotional distress?]

“...I’m fine, Omega. Keep going.”

[Affirmative. But, I must consider the worst-case scenario. The creation of any such entity with that level of control over Chaos Energy cannot be done without some safeguards in place. It is said that it only takes one bad day for someone to become...irredeemable. So, to that end, attached to this file is the location and nature of the Project Shadow Contingency protocol.]

“Contingency?” Thought Shadow, just as he was about to take a swig, the message continued.

[A means to terminate the Ultimate Lifeform.] Upon hearing those words, Shadow dropped the glass. It landed on the floor shattering instantly. He looked at Omega shocked and horrified.

“R...replay that last bit.”

[-Project Shadow Contingency protocol. A means to terminate the Ultimate Lifeform.] He could not move, his whole body shook, tears flowed down out of his eyes as those words rang through his head over and over. A means to terminate the Ultimate Lifeform. He placed his hands over his face, hiding it from anyone who would dare enter without his permission. After so many years, decades of praying, begging...it was finally here.

The only thing he sought after.

A chance to be with Sonic once more.

**A chance to die.**


	3. Answers

Shadow’s head rested in his hand, his elbows kept his head from hitting the desk. His whole body shook and quivered, all this time Gerald had indeed given him a chance to die. He clenched his fists, tears flowing out of his eyes, why didn’t he tell him?! Why couldn’t he have known about this all those years ago?! He sobbed into his hands, wishing he had found out about this sooner. He looked over at Omega and managed to mumble, “...keep going...I...I need to know.”

[Affirmative. If Shadow were to go rogue, he would be immune to all conventional forms of harm. As a result, I have devised a means to kill him so that if such an eventuality were to occur, we would be prepared. It is a serum, which once injected will kill him painlessly within a couple of minutes. All that is required is that it enters the bloodstream, the exact nature and chemical makeup of the serum is attached to this file. I cannot overstate that, this contingency is to be used only as a last resort and when no other options are available for either termination or incapacitation. Shadow is my life’s work...and my granddaughter’s closest friend, to see him die would break her heart.] Shadow’s tears began to land on the desk, managing to squeeze through the gaps in between his fingers. Hearing those words from Gerald about Maria. His sobs were interrupted by the next part of the message. [And Shadow...if you’re hearing this, I beg you...do not use this serum on yourself. I’m sure that you’re sad, lonely, lost, but there will be more out there for you. You have all the time you need to create the perfect world and find true happine-]

“Silence that recording and print off a copy of that report,” Shadow said in an aggressive tone.

[Affirmative.] Once the recording was over, Shadow downed the glass of whiskey in his hand.

“This briefing, is it genuine?”

[Affirmative]

“And this ‘Well-Wisher’...who are they?”

[Unknown]

“How is that possible?! You’re wired into the GUN information network!”

[The ID number does not belong to any known agent The closest match is one agent 'Aaron Malesturm’.]

“Find him. Contact him, I want answers.”

[That is impossible,] Omega continued before Shadow could ask why, [Aaron Malestrum was killed in action on the 12th June, 2055.]

“...Dammit.” Shadow put the bottle of whiskey back in his desk drawer. Once he heard the familiar sound of the printer finishing its job, Shadow grabbed the file as well as his ID card.

[What are you going to do Shadow?]

Shadow marched towards the door, swiping his ID card on the scanner which allowed the door to open. He stood in the doorway before looking back at Omega. “I have a few questions for the Commander.” Shadow then left without another word.

\-------------------

Shade sat in the ancient, weather leather. He gently rubbed the tips of his thumbs together as his fingers interlocked, nervously. Ivan’s house looked like something straight out of the Soviet Union, the leather chair he sat on was tucked away in the corner facing the blocky rectangular TV. Shade’s body hid most of the chair’s brown colour from any who wished to see it, the striped sofa on his left was black, pinkish-red and white in colour. Shade looked around the room, admiring the black and orange diamond pattern across the wall. Hung up on the wall were, in contrast to his father’s place were plenty of photos and medals from his past experiences. From his Badge of Excellence for being a sniper back in his days in the Soviet military, his Order of the Patriotic War 2nd Class and (arguably one of Ivan’s most prized possessions) his medal that granted his title ‘Hero of the Soviet Union’.

The photos were, however, what Shade was most interested in. While he was more than willing to discuss Ivan’s wartime experiences, he most wanted to know about his Papa and his friends. He had met just about all of them at least once, asking them about adventures and attempts upon their lives by Eggman. There were pictures of; Tails and Ivan working on the latter’s tank Natasha, Shadow and Sonic’s wedding day (Shade still could not believe Shadow talked Sonic into wearing a dress or how his Papa was able to wear it like a champ) and a photo of the two hedgehogs holding him as a baby. Shade smiled at that photo, his parents looked so happy. He wished that could return to Shadow one day. Before long, Ivan’s light brown military-style boots made contact with the red carpet with yellow Arabian patterns tattooed into it.

“Here. My famous beef stew.” He said with a smile before handing Shade a warm, light blue bowl.

Shade looked down at the bowl and smiled, taking a deep breath in through his nostrils, he took in the aromas produced by the stew. It was a beef stew of some kind, the warmth of the bowl and liquid contained within was like the warmness that Siberia never felt all packed together into a single stew. With a spoon in hand, Shade scooped up a spoonful and slurped it up. A purr escaped from his mouth as he swallowed it, proceeding to down more and more of the bowl’s contents. The taste of this stew was...difficult to describe. While yes, there was a clear taste of beef present, something else also persisted. It was like the warm feeling of a mother hug, when you’re told that you’re my ‘special little boy’, kiss on your forehead when you scrape your knee and every act of motherly love was mixed together into an indescribable taste. It was a Walker family recipe that Ivan refused to share, only he knew how to make it. Not even Shadow knew what it was. Despite that, it was one of the only things that could bring a smile to Shadow’s face.

“So Shade,” said Ivan, as he sat on the sofa adjacent to the leather chair Shade, sat in, “what can I do for you?”

“Well...it’s about...my dad.”

Ivan’s ears lowered as he sighed, “About why he won’t move on?” Shade nodded in response. “We’ve been over this Shade, your Father...is not as well adjusted to immortality as I am.”

“...How do you manage?”

“...I had help.”

“Help?” Asked Shade, raising an eyebrow.

“When I was born, my family had long since become immortal. It had passed through our bloodline for centuries, where it came from I do not know nor do I care. I had a caring and loving family with me for most of that time, a mother, father, sister, they all helped me when the strains of eternal life got to me.”

“...What happened to them?”

“Stalin.”

“Oh.”

“After that, I felt lost, but that was when I ended up helping Gerald create Shadow. Once again, I had a new family.”

“So...how does this relate to Shadow?”

“Your father is a young immortal. Twice in his life, he has lost the people closest to him, early on too.”

“I wouldn’t exactly call over 150 years ago early on...or 100 years ago in the case of Papa.”

“My family were taken from me when I was just over 500 years old.”

“Oh...well...I suppose when you put it that way.”

“I didn’t lose my family until much later in life, as a result, he is not well adjusted.”

“But you said you managed so well before then because you had a loving family.”

“I did, and they loved me with all their heart. Like we do with Shadow, but sadly…”

“....It is not enough.” Shade sighed sadly, as he ate more of the stew in silence.

\-------------------

The metallic door into the Commander’s office opened up, Shadow stood in the doorway growling. His eyes were always red, but now they literally glowed with anger as they drilled into the Commander’s very soul. The room was large, at least double the size of his office. It had a bulletproof window with a lovely view of the city, through which you could see the famous Central City skyline. The walls, like most of the building, were grey and concrete in nature. The only decoration being propaganda and banners, with the sole exception behind a map of the world pinned up on the wall behind the chair. His desk and chair were much more ornate than Shadow’s, the wood it was made of likely belonging to an ancient tree which had witnessed god knows what only to be struck down to become a piece of furniture in some military Commander’s office.

The Commander himself was a younger man. He was about 5 ft 9, wearing the normal grey and dark grey uniform all GUN Commanders worse since the beginning. It had god knows how many service ribbons of various colours on the left-hand side of the jacket. His brown eyes looked up at Shadow as he adjusted his short black hair, and scratched his clean-shaven chin.

“Agent Shadow,” He said authoritatively, “What is the meaning of-” before he could finish, Shadow slammed the paper file on his desk. Knocking over the pile of cue cards and disrupting the organised pens on the desk.

“Mission Briefing: SA-2001,” He said gesturing towards it, “Ring any bells?”

“How did you get this?!”

  
  
Shadow turned his back to the Commander, “A well-wisher.”

“...You’ve read it?”

“Yes.”

“...Agent, we-”

“Why?”

“I’m sorry?”

“WHY?!” Shadow slammed his fist into the wall, forming a crack where he hit. “WHY DID YOU KEEP THIS FROM ME?! YOU LOT KNEW I WAS SUFFERING, THAT I WAS IN PAIN, THAT I WANTED TO SEE MY LOVE AGAIN!”

“We had no choice, Shadow.” The Ultimate lifeform glared daggers at him yet again.

“What the fuck are you talking about?!”

The Commander sighed, rubbing his temple. “After...everything happened, we dug up that old file when looking through the ARK’s information on you. We needed to have something in place in case you went mad with grief. That’s when we found out about the serum. Believe me, there were some of us who wanted to tell you...but you’re our best agent. We were convinced that if we gave it to you, then you would end your life. You've saved this world countless times. But without you, we may not be able to fight what threatens the planet...we'd be overrun! But thanks to you billions of lives have been saved. This was for the Greater Good!”

Shadow gripped one of the pens on his desk, “And what kind of life do I have now huh?! I wake up every morning, and my heart is shattered when I see my husband isn’t sitting next to me! When I go to see that grave, I want to try to dig him up and Frankenstein him back to life with the Master Emerald! THAT’S NO LIFE!”

“But if you took your own life, how many others would suffer? Think of you son! Shade would be-”

“DON’T SAY HIS FUCKING NAME!” Shadow threw the pen at the Commander, embedding it in the concrete wall.

“Agent! If you’d calm down...maybe we can work something out”

After a few minutes of thought, Shadow replied sternly, “You have five minutes.”

The Commander cleared his throat. “After we found this file, we naturally created a couple of batches. At present, there are only two known samples of it in existence. Both of which are in our possession. Until four days ago, when one of them was stolen.”

“By who?”

“A Black Arms infiltrator named ‘Eclipse’. Apparently he was supposed to be part of the third Black Arms invasion 30 years ago but never hatched in time. We believe he stole one of the vials to kill you.” The Commander leaned forward, “So I am going to offer you a deal. If you can take down Eclipse, we will hand over both vials and you can do with them as you see fit. You can kill yourself, stay alive, kill your son but you live, kill yourself and your son, whatever. All we ask in return is that you save the world, one last time.” He offered Shadow a handshake. “Will you accept this mission?”

Shadow looked at the hand, the tears still flowed down his face. Not only had the Commander had the means to kill him, not only was it right under his nose, but the government knew! He was more than pissed, he wanted nothing more than to grab Omega and level the building with a Chaos Blast. But...that would be ill-advised. After a few minutes of thinking, Shadow accepted the handshake. “Alright...I’ll do it.”

  
  


_** “I’m going to find this ‘Eclipse’ guy and kill the sonofabitch.” ** _


	4. One Last Mission

Shade sat in silence, he wanted to ask Ivan a very important question, it would be vital in trying to help Shadow but...he wasn’t sure if he would be allowed to.

“Something on your mind, Shade?”

“Huh?” He looked up at Ivan, who raised an eyebrow at him, “Well...I was...just wondering…”

“Yes?”

“Did you...ever lose someone like Sonic? A...A lover?” Ivan sighed, he closed his eyes.

“I did...yes. In the 17th century.”

“What was his name?”

“...Leon. He was...a knight came to our lands on some expedition. Leon captured my heart and ...just made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Plus he gave great massages.”

Shade chuckled, but then fell silent out of respect. “How did he-”

“I don’t know. After our Cossack tribe collapsed, I lost sight of him in the chaos. Haven’t seen Leon since.”

“And...how’d you get past that?”

“...Sadly it was time, war and my family.”

“Oh.”

“Trust me, I wish there was an easy fix. But, life is never so simple.”

\-------------------

Shadow sat in his office, impatiently tapping his glass with his index finger as the Commander paced up and down the room. They decided to talk in Shadow’s office so that the hedgehog could have his whiskey. He looked up at the Commander, much of the anger he had was not gone...but some was still present. “Where is he?”

“Eclipse has taken the serum to an abandoned Eggman facility, a few hundred miles to the north of Station Square.”

“...Anything I should know about this facility?”

“It used to be one of his manufacturing plants, but after his...demise it fell into disrepair. GUN did attempt to use it once, but whatever security he put on the computers was too powerful for us to access. It has laid dormant ever since.”

“Completely dormant?”

“No one has lived there, I can tell you that much. Some of the facility may still be active, he did build those places to last, but don’t expect much in the way of resistance from Eggman’s machines.”

Shadow nodded, drinking from his whiskey once again. “And Eclipse. What IS he exactly?”

“Eclipse was created by the latest generation of the Black Arms, likely as a counter to you. He is fast, durable and intelligent. Not sure how he relates to your Chaos Powers but we’ll have to see.”

“When will I head there?”

“...Go there tomorrow. You may wish to say goodbye to your son...after all this-”

“I know.” Shadow stood up, he downed the last of the whiskey before closing the drawer the bottle was in.

“I’ll send you the location where you can meet up with your support. Take the rest of the day off Agent. You’re going to need it.” Shadow nodded, he did not think he needed support, but he was going to accept it. Shadow didn’t want to admit it, but he was going to need all the help he could get when it came to dealing with Eclipse.

\-------------------

The wooden door into Shadow’s home opened with a loud creak. He placed the long jacket he wore on a coat rack next to the door. He sighed and approached a chair, sitting down in it. The living room was surprisingly humble for someone like Shadow. There were a few more...eccentric, the most notable one was a large oil painting above the fireplace, in front of the red and blue wallpaper. It depicted the view of the Earth from the ARK’s observation deck. The blue sphere that was Earth with patches of organic green looked so...majestic and pretty back then. The inscription on the frame read ‘Remember Your Roots - Amy’. Shadow looked at it and was always surprised by her skill as a painter, not least the fact she got her hands on some of the ARK’s hull to melt down into the inscription pad.

But the rest seemed pretty normal. The windows were concealed by white curtains, nothing too unique or odd, the wallpaper reflected Sonic and Shadow’s fur. Somedays Shadow wants to tear down the wallpaper and reveal the brick wall underneath. The TV was a relatively normal flatscreen, covered in a thin layer of dirt, seems Shade had not gotten around to cleaning it. Next to the chair Shadow sat in, was a small table, in it rested a landline. 

Shadow heard some noises coming from the kitchen, he figured Shade was making some dinner. He sighed, Shade was the perfect son...caring and loving. Shade would do anything to make sure Shadow had a smile on his face...he took a lot from Sonic, for better and for worse. Shadow looked at the photo that rested face down on the small table next to the chair he sat in, he was about to reach for it when he heard someone enter.

“Dad!” Said Shade, he smiled and walked over before immediately hugging his father. “What are you doing home so early?”

“They, let me go sooner than normal.” He said with a tired tone, bags under his eyes. Shade sniffed the air him, the distinct, but sadly familiar, the aroma of whiskey came off Shadow’s body.

“You feeling okay, Dad?”

“Yeah, Shade...I’m just tired. Don’t worry about it.” Shadow rubbed his head, sighing slightly.

“You wanna talk about it?”

“...I’ve been presented a...big opportunity. But...it would come at a great cost.”

Shade raised an eyebrow, “How big?”

“Life-changing. For you, Ivan and I...we’d never be the same.”

“And do you think it’s worth it?”

“I do. It’s...worth it but...the cost will still be great. Shade...what do you think I should do?”

Shade sighed, before hugging Shadow. “Dad...I think you should do whatever makes you happy. Papa would want that, I know it.”

Shadow looked at his son and smiled, wiping away a tear that formed in his eye. “...Why do you have to have his eyes?” He said before kissing Shade’s forehead. “Now head to bed, I’m going to get some sleep.” Shade nodded and stood up, turning to go upstairs to his room.

Shade looked back at his father and smiled, “See you later dad. Love you!”

The Ultimate Lifeform looked up at him and smiled, “I love you too.” Shade chuckled and went upstairs, with that cocky grin on his face. Confident that he could make him feel better one day. Shadow meanwhile heard his phone go off, grabbing it, he saw it was a message containing the mission briefing and the location of the RV.

“So…you going to tell me what’s going on?” Ivan slowly turned to the origin of the familiar deep Russian accent.

“Depends. Will you tell Shade?”

“Nope.”

Shadow looked at Ivan as if it were a cross-examination. “...I’ve found a way out.”

“...A way to die?” Shadow nodded, Ivan’s heart dropped. He looked into Shadow’s eyes, and then it hit him...he wasn’t tired from a lack of sleep...he was tired from life. While Shadow did normally have some degree of tiredness to himself, it was never this bad. It was as if, which a chance to be free so close, Shadow’s body simply gave up trying to resist his mindset. “So...you’re going to leave us?”

“...Ivan...I just...I can’t. I miss him, I want Sonic by my side! I want to wake up in the morning and follow the smell of chilidogs to the kitchen and find him munching on a batch as his ‘breakfast’. I want to race him in the fields of Green Hill Zone! I want to run my hands through his blue quills, starting from the top one because it was the most sensitive!” Shadow averted his gaze, as the tears that formed from his talk with Shade grew exponentially in size. “Is that...Is that too much to ask?!”

Ivan sighed, “I suppose not...it’s up to you brother. But remember...Sonic made you promise to protect the world, and there are people here who will miss you. But if you’re sure, then you’re welcome to do whatever it is you wish.”

“...Thank you, Ivan.”

The elder hedgehog turned away, as he opened the door, he stopped. “Just so you know,” Shadow raised an eyebrow, “no soldier should die while his sidearm is still fully loaded.” With that last piece of advice, Ivan left.

Shadow approached the overturned picture of Sonic. He lifted it, looked at the photo inside. It was from Sonic and Shadow’s first date, the cobalt hedgehog had wrapped an arm around Shadow. Sonic’s face had a wide cocky smile as he winked at the camera, a striped red and white straw stuck out of a strawberry milkshake and into Sonic’s mouth. A somewhat brooding Shadow looked at the camera, a small smirk on his face as an identical straw to Sonic’s stuck out of the milkshake and into Shadow’s lips. Shadow gently stroked Sonic’s photographed face, before giving it a gentle kiss.

“I’m coming, Sonikku. Just you wait.”

\-------------------

Shadow sat in the woods, the organic trees towering over him as he gripped a green Chaos Emerald in one hand and a pistol in the other. He looked up at them, hoping they could provide some form of guidance or advice...but the only reply came from the movement of the wind or the songs of birds. He sighed looking down at his match the time was displayed as ‘13:30’, his ‘support’ was going to arrive within a few minutes. Shadow looked at the Eggman facility that sat in front of him. At first glance, it looked like...well...a factory. At the very front of the building, there was a rectangle door, the original colour and paint had long since faded. With the once-proud Eggman logos little more than outlines of their former master’s face. There were few windows, almost nothing but a layer of metal surrounding the whole building. The handful of windows presented were cracked, missing, or had their orange tint rot off. It was far too small to house the entire hive, so Shadow figured that the rest of it must be underground. A lot of confined spaces...nothing he couldn’t handle. 

Shadow did one last ammo check, he whipped out the Glock 19, Shadow effortlessly released the pistol and check his clip. Indeed, it was fully loaded, Shadow slid the clip back in with a satisfying ‘click’ as he heard large metallic footsteps. He turned around, his pistol aimed at where the noises were coming from. Shadow expected a GUN mech or some soldier in an EXO Suit...but he got something better. 

Standing before him, in his nearly 9ft tall glory, was none other than his metallic companion E-123 Omega. The red and black colour scheme seemingly matched Shadow’s, the omega letter that rested on his broad shoulder-like attachments looked brand new. Every part of Omega looked brand new. The sunlight reflected off the silver parts of his body, he limbs moved and twisted with smooth efficiency. Omega’s glowing red eyes scanned Shadow up and down, the machine noticed he had an uncharacteristic smirk.

“Welcome back to the land of the living, Omega. I take it you’re my support.”

[Affirmative. The Commander believed that I would provide more effective support than any other Agent. His assumption is correct.]

“Just like old times...Rouge would be proud of us. Still doing missions together, even without her.”

[Affirmative.]

“...You sure you’re up for this Omega? It has been a while since you’ve been out in the field.”

[All systems are fully operational]

“Alright. But I should let you know...this is...going to be my last mission.”

[Affirmative. Your financial records indicate that you can live a comfortable retirement.]

“...Omega...I don’t...mean it like that.” The machine stood there, looking down at Shadow. Even without facial muscles, the hedgehog had a way of reading Omega...he was processing this information. His eyes as well as, the green lights on his body, blinked and glowed. “...Are you okay?”

[...Affirmative. All systems are operational.]

“Omega-”

[We must not waste time.] He interrupted, [Let us proceed to the objective. Eliminate all Black Arms!]

Shadow sighed and nodded, “Yeah,” he patted Omega’s arm, “let’s go.” With that, the two entered the large Eggman facility ahead of them. Shadow looked over at Omega as he walked on his left, smiling before looking to his right to see it empty. His smile turned into a frown, it was close to old times. But it seemed...empty without Rouge. Her wit and flirtations, even after he met Sonic...she was the only one who encouraged him to pursue the Blue Blur. He at first did tell any of Sonic's friends. He was convinced they would just tell him to bury his feelings became ‘Amy will kill you’. All of Omega’s suggestions involved ‘[Eliminating all rivals to your goal and then seizing the objective.]’ Not exactly good relationship advice. He was sure Omega meant well if that was even possible, but Rouge...she told him to go get him. She did him many great services over his life...he just wished she was here. But that was not the focus, he and Omega set their minds to the task at hand. To put a bullet in Eclipse’s head and finally give Shadow the peace he deserves. The Ultimate lifeform looked up at Omega again.

  
  
  
  
  


_** He could protect Shade when he was gone. ** _


	5. Loss

Omega’s metallic clawed hands punched a hole in the rusted door and ripped it open, light entering the large empty space after decades of denied entry. The once proud mechanical walls, which would have boastfully displayed the technological prowess of the Eggman Empire, were now little more than the rusted skin of an abandoned ruin. The floors were also metallic, it was like someone had used the ‘fill’ tool on every surface and replaced it with the familiar metal of Eggman. As Omega and Shadow walked down the hall, they saw an empty elevator shaft ahead, it was clear that was the way down. Omega ripped the door open and looked down, scanning for any dangers.

“Any sign of trouble Omega?”

[Processing...heat signatures detected on the lower levels.]

“How big?”

[Innumerable.]

“The Black Arms must be down there!” Shadow looked down, about to Chaos Control before Omega held up a hand gesturing for him to stop.

[Halt. You must reserve your Chaos Energy, I will get us down there.]

“Hmph...alright.” Shadow put the Emerald in his quills before Omega got down on one knee.

[Climb aboard.] The Ultimate Lifeform nodded, he climbed onto the robot’s back, holding onto him. Omega approached the open doors and squeezed through. The robot then leapt down, rapidly descending down the shaft, allowing Shadow to feel a rush of wind across his face and quills. Going so far as to close his eyes in order to stop them from drying up. As Omega got closer to the bottom of the shaft, he activated the jet boosters on his back to show his decent. Once they were close to the bottom, Omega landed on the ground with a loud thud, the floor cracking due to his weight. [Destination reached.] Shadow got off Omega and began to make his way down the hallway, the underground was a massive contrast to the rest of the base. The once technological walls of the Eggman Empire, were instead overrun by the flesh of the Black Arms. Tumour-like, fleshy walls surrounded them as they walked. With only a handful of patches being intact form the corruption of the Black Arms.

They soon entered a large much more open room, vines and tendrils of flesh extended from the ceiling and attached to the floor creating webbing like growths. Some of these growths had egg shaped bulges in them, the sizes varied but most of them were about human sized. Though some were bigger or smaller, a handful look like barnacles on the sides of ships. Shadow spotted the skeletons of people fused into the flesh, upon examination it became clear these belongs to people who tried to enter before. Urban explorers, GUN Agents or just people in the wrong place at the wrong time. The Black Arms took them to this...hive and fused them with the fleshy walls, allowing the smaller creatures to gorge themselves of the hapless victims.

“Dammed aliens.” Shadow growled.

“A bit rude don’t you think?” Said a distorted voice coming from above, Shadow immediately looked up and saw the Alien who mocked him.

“Who are you?”

“Me? I am you in a way. A living weapon, built for a singular purpose. The Black Arm biology perfected. I am the shadow that blocks out the last light of hope. I am Eclipse The Darkling!”

The Darkling’s glowing gold eyes looked down at the pair with a smirk, revealing his sharp yellowish orange teeth. His resemblance to Shadow was slight, but present. Rather than chest fur, he had a patch of red which extended from his chest to his shoulders in the form of a spiked ‘mantle’. His three ‘quills’ bore the same greyish purple colour and red accents as the rest of his body. The Darkling leapt down, his devil like tail swishing as he stood in front of the two revealing his body’s similar proportions to Shadow. His three fingered claws dusted himself off, the smirk remained on his face.

“So...you’re the one who took the serum?”

“Correct.”

“Where is it?”

“Not on me if that’s what you’re thinking. It’s a shame a traitor like you has to come here, you could have been a valuable asset to my kind. Though I suppose you will be in a sense.”

“As fertilizer?”

“Oh so much more than that.” Eclipse paced around Shadow and Omega, he wanted to attack but the Ultimate Life Form gestured for him to stand down. He wanted to hear what Eclipse had to say, Omega held fire but kept his machine guns out in the event of an attack. “While you mercilessly slaughtered my kind, I was being incubated. My body and mind grew, shaping me into a role larger than a simple infiltrator. With the destruction of both Black Doom and Black Death, I was the last member of the Black Arms capable of handling the strain of our Hive Mind. As I felt my mind connect to theirs, I also learnt all of our failures. We were simply using this planet’s population as fuel, slave labour or food. All perfectly fitting ends, but not valuable in the way we need. So I devised a solution.”

“Genocide?”

“Useful genocide. Whenever possible, rather than outright kill people, we bring them here. Those remains you saw were not just people we have consumed, they are people we have assimilated!” The Darkling gave a smirk at the horrified Shadow.

[Impossible.] Objected Omega, [The Black Arms are incapable of assimilating organic life. They can only consume it.]

Eclipse rubbed his chin with a clawed finger, “That may have been true a long time ago, but we’ve since adapted. We can bring people here and fuse them with our hive, and their minds become one with ours. Every memory, every ounce of knowledge,” he said, before he started tapping his head to every word, “Every. Little. Thing. Is all mine!” Eclipse chuckled and licked his lips. “And let me tell you, devouring the minds of people is...delicious!”

Shadow growled, “You’re lying!”

“See for yourself.” Eclipse held up his hand and a small green portal like hole appeared as if he were holding a mirror. But instead of showing Shadow’s face...it showed something worse. Dozens if not hundreds of people, screaming and raging, begging and demanding freedom. Forever trapped within the dark corners of the Alien Hive Mind. Eclipse closed his hand, shutting off the portal. “We have grown significantly recently, but imagine how powerful we’d become once an entire world has been assimilated! A whole planet of intelligence and knowledge incorporated into us, the best parts of their biology added to make us strong. The worst parts becoming food for the rest.” The Darkling cackled loudly, holding his arms in the air towards the walls and walls of incubation pods. Eclipse then frowned when he looked at Shadow, “Which brings me to you. Traitor. You contain a great deal of power and knowledge, a strong connection to Chaos Energy AND the original DNA of Black Doom! Which makes you the biggest obstacle to our expansion...but also a valuable asset. If you were assimilated, my new generation would be unstoppable! Sadly you body is resistant to control and direct assimilation...so we needed to weaken it.”

“The serum.”

“Correct. Once you’re all nice and weak, on the brink of death, we’ll toss you into one of these pods...and make you...better. Make you a Darkling like me!”

“I don’t need to be better! I AM THE ULTIMATE!”

“So I’ve heard. But for now, you are about to have bigger things to worry about!” Before Shadow could ask, Eclipse snapped his fingers and every single pod opened up. Various Black Arms creatures came out, from the tall and muscular Black Oaks to the flying and nimble Black Volts. They bore their swords, guns and fists, charging towards the pair as Eclipse vanished amongst the horde.

“Coward!” He yelled before open firing upon the Black Arms, using his pistol he immediately dispatched ten Aliens, each bullet being a headshot. As Shadow finished reloading, more and more of the Black Arms forces descended upon them. Holstering his pistol, Shadow formed Chaos Spears in his hands and threw them. Those struck received melting burns on their faces, Shadow was not here to render them unconscious or wounded like how he held back his power is the past. He was here to kill, and they would die. A Black oak roared and charged at him, Shadow threw a Chaos Spear at the brute but this simply angered it. The bolt of energy smashed his face before dispersing, he threw several more but they all met the same result. Suddenly, the Oak’s head was blown clean off, Shadow turned to find the source of this only to (unsurprisingly) see Omega pointing a gun at where the Oak’s head once was. The large creature collapsed with a loud thud, its body crushing any smaller Black Arms soldiers underneath it.

[You possess insufficient weaponry.] Declared Omega as he smashed three of the smaller Black Arms creatures. Both of Omega’s arms changed into gatling guns and quickly roared, any caught in their path were ripped to shreds. Alien lips came clean off, as their flesh was minced up into chunky sludge. Their green blood sprayed over Omega, the robot did not care, continuing to fire rapidly and slay as many of the aliens as possible. Shadow’s Chaos Spears grew less sophisticated and targeted, delvoling in angry bolts of energy. The built up anger and grief he’d been feeling could finally come out. He growled and roared as he slayed more and more hostile Aliens, imagining each one he killed was someone who wronged him in the past. That Soldier was the GUN Operative who shot Maria. That Black Volt was Doctor Eggman, who had the nerve to attack during Shade’s Birth. And that Black Oak was the doctor who told Shadow that Sonic was going to die within a week.

A small group of Black Volts sped towards them, attempting to dive bomb the pair. Shadow smirked. He leapt up into the air, curling up into a spin dash before striking the first Black Volt. Before the others could dive at him, Shadow spin dashed the next one. Then the next. And the next. He repeated this as much as needed, more and more of the flying bat like creatures fell to the ground, only to be crushed by Omega before they could take off. Shadow looked around before landing next to Omega, there were too many of them. They’d run out of ammo and Chaos Energy before killing them. The Ultimate Lifeform came up with a plan, he looked back at Omega.

“Cover me!”

  
  
[Affirmative!]

The gunfire of Omega’s weapons kept the Black Arms from interfering. Shadow gripped the two inhibitor rings on his wrists one at a time and removed them. He then pulled out the emerald and held it tightly in his hand, drawing from both it and his own pool of Chaos Energy. He felt the energy build up in his body, a groan escaped his mouth as his eyes closed tightly. It had been so long since he did this, the hedgehog’s body glowed red as he slightly levitated off the ground. Biting his lower lip, his tried to keep the energy inside for just a few more seconds. It pained him, it was like a pipe about to burst. Then he felt the critical mass, Shadow’s red glow got bright enough that some Black Arms averted their gaze. He growled loudly as he got ready to release this energy.

“Chaos... **BLAST!** ”

A rapidly expanding field of Chaos Energy emerged from his body. When it passed over Omega, no harm was done. The Black Arms were not so lucky. When the energy contacted their body, their flesh instantly caught fire. The burns spread rapidly as the energy covered more of their body. The Aliens screeched loudly in pain as the flesh burnt off their bodies. Leaving only skeletons for a few brief moments before they too were disintegrated. Even the flesh on the walls was not spared, it shrunk and fell off. Turning black from the burns and charring up, before they shivered in pain. Shadow began panting as a lot of his energy was drained by that attack, the Ultimate Lifeform grabbed the inhibitor rings and put them on.

“Omega, are you okay?”

[Affirmative. All systems nominal.]

“Good, let’s go find Eclipse. That coward probably fled down that-”

Before Shadow could finish, a bolt of purple energy shot at Omega. It melted through his chassis instantly, wreaking havoc on the machine’s internal systems. Omega collapsed onto the ground with a thud, his eyes flashing and glitching due to the internal damage. Shadow looked at where the bolt came from, it was Eclipse. The Darkling had seemingly taken cover during the blast and grabbed a Black Arms weapon using it to open fire on Omega. Eclipse gave a devilish smirk before fleeing down a hallway into another room. Shadow rushed to Omega’s side.

[Critical Damage Detected. Weapons Systems: Offline. AI Core: Failing. Power Systems: Failing.] Shadow slowly dragged Omega so he was sitting upright against the now flesh free wall. 

“You’re...you’re going to be okay Omega. We can get you fixed, just like before.” Shadow crouched in front of Omega, looking into the machine’s eyes.

[Negative. Effect to M-M-Mission unacceptable.] His voice began to glitch and fail. [Advance without-out-out me.]

“Omega, I can’t just leave you! We’re a team! Rouge would never have-”

[I know. But, you cannot fail because of me.]

“...But-”

[Shadow...could you...stay with me?...Please...] Shadow’s eyes widened, he had never heard Omega talk like this before. He did not care why, the hedgehog simply nodded and sat next to Omega. [...Would she...be proud of us?]

Shadow nodded, “I like to think so.”

[...Secondary Objective Complete. Warning...Power systems at: 10%]

“I’m sorry...this is all my fault.”

[Negative. I should have been more vigilant.]

“I suppose we all make mistakes Omega. Even you.”

[...Affirmative. Warning...Power Levels at 5%...Shadow?]

“Yes Omega?”

[...I’m scared...]

“...I know big guy...I know...”

[Shadow...Does this model have a Soul?]

“Omega I-” Shadow looked over at his mechanical partner, the robot truly did seem scared...worried about what would happen to him when that percentage reached zero. “...You-...Yes, you’ve more than earned one Omega. And I am absolutely sure, that Rouge will be more than happy to see you.”

Omega beeped happily, [Thank you, Shadow. Warning...Power Levels at 1%] His voice began to grow quiet and slurred as he tried to hold on to whatever power level he could.

Shadow smiled at Omega, patting his shoulder. “...I could never ask for a better friend, Omega.”

[...Me too...Friend...] With that, Omega’s eyes went dark as his power ran out. Shadow hugged Omega’s chest, crying slightly as he did.

“I’ll annihilate these worthless alien bastards for you, buddy.” Shadow patted his head before wiping away the tears and placing the Chaos Emerald in his hand for safe keeping. The Ultimate Lifeform walked down the hallway Eclipse had previously escaped through, his pistol and a look of determination on his face. Shadow walked past the dead Black Arms soldiers and growled to himself.

  
  
  
  
  
  
**_  
“Worthless consumer models.” _ **


	6. Revenge

Ivan poured himself a cup of tea, a small sniff made it clear that he had indeed prepared it right this time. (He didn’t want a repeat of when he used salt instead of sugar.) The teaspoon spun around inside, making a small whirlpool before he pulled the spoon out tapping the rim of the mug. Ivan places the spoon in the sink before walking over to his chair and sitting in it. After a quick sip of his tea, Ivan grabs the remote and the TV comes to life.

“If you’re trying to sneak in, you’ve got to do better than that Shade.” Ivan looked at the corner of the room to find Shade standing right there, arms crossed.

“Where is my dad?”

“He’s gone to work, I’d have thought you could figure that out.”

“Without his ID badge? It’s been five hours and he has not come back to collect it.” Shade marched towards Ivan. “So, you better tell me right now. Where. Is. My. Dad?!” Ivan sighed and took another sip out of his mug.

“He's gone to go take down the Black Arms.” He said truthfully, Shade relaxed slightly.

“If he’s just doing that, then what’s with all the secrecy?”

“...Because there’s something more important at stake...his life.”

“His life? But Dad can’t be killed.”

“That’s what this mission is about.” Ivan finished his tea before looking at Shade. “Gerald made a serum to kill Shadow is he ever went rogue. The Black Arms took a sample and he’s gone to retrieve it...and Shadow no doubt plans to use it on himself.”

“WHAT?! WE CAN’T LET HIM GO THAT!”

“It’s his choice, Shade.”

Shade growled at Ivan, “You just want him dead so you can take his place! Some Brother you are-” Before he could finish, Ivan grabbed Shade’s neck and pinned him to the wall.

“You listen to me **VERY** closely Shade. Shadow is my brother, you two are the only family I have left! You both mean the world to me, so don’t think for a **FUCKING SECOND** **THAT I DON’T LOVE HIM!** ” Ivan let go of Shade, letting the hedgehog slide to the floor. “I simply want Shadow to make his own choice, he deserves the option of being allowed to be with Sonic. When you’re in his position, and believe me you will be, you’ll have the same thoughts as he does right now.”

“I...Ivan-”

The elder offered Shade his hand, “But you deserve the right to see him. One last time.” Shade took Ivan’s hand and was pulled to his feet. “Now come on...let’s go see your Dad.” 

\---------------------

Shadow marched into the large open room, it was very similar to the last one he was in. The flesh-covered walls, webbing and lack of metallic surfaces all looked familiar...but instead there were not an army of incubation pods. Instead, there was only one. Shadow realised it was about the size of a curled up Mobian, though it is a bit bigger. He saw Eclipse standing in front of the pod, his back facing Shadow.

“You have fought well, Brother. I’m sorry about your friend, but I did not want him to interfere with our little chat.”

“Don’t call me that! We’re not family!” Said Shadow aggressively as Eclipse smirked, turning around to look at Shadow. The Ultimate Lifeform whipped out his pistol, pointing it at the Darkling.

“Tell me...how much do you wish to see Sonic again?” Shadow glared at Eclipse, the anger growing inside him. “I will admit, your destruction of my kind here today is somewhat frustrating...but...they were due to be melted down once the next generation came about. So for that, and because we’re family-”

“ **WE’RE** **NOT** **!** ”

Eclipse rolled his eyes, “BECAUSE we’re family I’m going to make you a unique offer.” He revealed the syringe of serum, the liquid contained within was an inky dark purple colour, for a second Shadow could have sworn it moved on its own. “You long for death, to see the love of your life again, to hold him in your arms. I can offer that for you if you simply surrender.” He smirked and gestured to the pod behind him, it opened up to allow Shadow to enter. “Enter...and you can see Sonic again. You family will not be harmed, I promise you. They will live amongst us, I can rewrite the memories of the Black Arms so they see them and you as heroes. Welcomed and worshipped.” Shadow looked closely at the incubation pod.

“...And you promise my family will be safe?”

“Cross my heart and hope to die. Stick a needle in my eye.”

Shadow took a couple of steps towards it, as Eclipse gave him a warm smile. The offer seemed perfect, his family would be safe, never alone and he could see Sonic again...maybe it wouldn’t be so bad here? As he got closer, the voices of the Hive Mind grew stronger...but one voice was even stronger. It easily overpowered the rest...it was Sonic. Shadow froze in place, his ear twitched.

“Sonic?” That one name broke the Hive Mind’s influence and any idea of giving in. Gripping his pistol once again he fired a shot at Eclipse. The Darkling dodged the gunfire, with a loud growl escaping from his mouth.

“Very well. Guess the assimilation will have to be forceful!” Eclipse charged at Shadow who dived to the side. He fired five more shots at Eclipse, he dodged each bullet and got closer before smacking the gun out of Shadow’s hand. He responded by kicking the Alien in the head and backing away.

“Let’s see how you like this. Chaos Spear!” Shadow tried to throw one at Eclipse, but nothing came out. The Darkling smirked and used this chance to try and stab Shadow with the syringe, but Shadow twisted Eclipse’s arm and used to put him in a hold. “What did you do to me?!”

“Isn’t it obvious? Chaos will not aid you here, so no cheating!” Eclipse headbutted Shadow which forced the hedgehog to release him. Shadow took a few steps back before instinctively dodging another tackle attempt by Eclipse. Shadow spin dashed towards the alien, Eclipse backhanded him to the side. The hedgehog adopted a defensive staff as Eclipse charged at him, grabbed Eclipse’s arm and his leg to allow himself to toss him over his shoulder. This sent Eclipse flying until he made contact with the wall, smalling into it before sliding to the ground. He stood up, groaning before cracking his neck and holding out an arm. Suddenly the creature lowered a hand to the ground and a long eel-like Black Arms alien wrapped around Eclipse’s hand. He aimed the creature’s head at Shadow and a beam of light shot at him. Shadow immediately, dodged to the side only to be met with another blast and he reacted just the same. Much like how Eclipse dodged his earlier gunshots, Shadow evaded the long-range attacks and got closer to the Darkling. Once an opening revealed itself, Shadow leapt up and drop kicked Eclipse into the ground.

Shadow tried to kick his head into a bloody mess, but the Darkling dodged to the side and punched him. After landing on all fours, the Ultimate Lifeform curled up to form a spin dash and sped towards Eclipse, the Darkling grabbed Shadow, wincing as he did. He managed to contain Shadow in his grip before throwing him into a wall, the Hedgehog’s quills sliced through the flesh before he regained his composure. Shadow took a few seconds to catch his breath, but those few seconds could be his downfall. The Darkling sped over and grabbed Shadow’s neck, pinning him to the wall with a smirk.

“A shame. You would have made a good Darkling!” Eclipse pulled out the syringe and stabbed Shadow in the shoulder with it, immediately injecting the substance into his bloodstream. Shadow felt the effects immediately, it was like all the power had been sapped out of his body. A feeling of cold began to spread slowly, starting from the place he was injected. Eclipse tossed Shadow to the floor before he walked past him and discarded the syringe. The Darkling began to gloat about his victory, certain that Shadow was doomed. He then began to monologue about the superiority of the Black Arms, his regret over killing Shadow and his descriptions of the fates of both Shade and Ivan. Shakespeare would have been proud of him. Shadow could not pay attention, his body was getting weaker and weaker as he coughed loudly. As he laid on the ground, accepting his defeat, Shadow spotted his pistol just a few inches ahead of him. His eyes widened as he remembered Ivan’s advice: 

\---------------------

_**“Just so you know,” Shadow raised an eyebrow, “no soldier should die while his sidearm is still fully loaded.”** _

\---------------------

Shadow slowly crawled towards the sidearm, his fingers dug into the floor as he dragged himself towards it. Each movement was in remembrance. He was not doing this to be with his beloved, he did this for everyone. 

For Maria.

For Omega.

For SONIC!

Shadow grabbed the pistol and rolled onto his back, he looked at Eclipse and lined up the shot. The Darkling turned around before he had the chance to react, Shadow pumped three bullets into him. Two in the legs and one in the shoulder. The Darkling yelled in pain as green blood flowed out from the wounds. He collapsed on the ground, trying in vain to cover the wounds as Shadow stood up. The hedgehog’s legs wobbled, the serum was certainly doing his job as the coldness spread throughout his body. Nevertheless, Shadow walked towards the Darkling. Eclipse gripped part of the wall to try and stand up but his legs could not support him, causing him to fall to the ground.

“ARGH!” Eclipse looked over at Shadow, the hedgehog’s eyes glared directly into Eclipse’s soul. “W...What are you doing?!” He said with a worried tone, for the first time, Eclipse felt fear. It was not pleasant. “Hey! HEY! Don’t do this! Please!” Eclipse clasped his hands together as he began to beg, tears flowing out of his eyes. “Don’t kill me! I’m on my knees here! PLEASE!” Shadow loomed over him and growled, he weakly lifted his pistol and aimed the barrel at Eclipse’s forehead.

“...I win.”

With that, Shadow used the last of the strength he had in that finger to pull the trigger. A loud gunshot rang through the empty building as the flesh began to shrink and die on its own now that their connection to the Hive Mind was severed. Eclipse’s body slumped over, falling to the side and onto the floor with a final look of fear on his face. Shadow dropped the gun, letting it slip out of his grip and fall onto the floor. He sighed as the coldness continued to fill his body, he slowly limped back down the hallway he came through as the last surviving pieces of the Black Arms rotted around him. He wanted to see the sun one last time...but that proved to be impossible. Once the coldness reached his legs, they stopped working, forcing Shadow to crawl. He looked over at the corpse of Omega, he managed to drag himself over next to it and position himself upright on the wall.

“...Hey...Omega...Save a...drink for me...”

As the coldness spread over his whole body, only his head stayed warm. His eyes soon started to become heavy as he heard footsteps from the elevator shaft. Whoever they belonged to, was coming to him. Shadow’s eyes weakly looked over, only to see Shade and Ivan running over. Tears poured out of Shade’s eyes as he rushed to Shadow’s side, gripping his hand and begging him to stay awake. Shadow looked into Shade’s eyes one last time and smiled. Shadow’s eyelids sealed shut once he was certain Shade was alive, and safe with Ivan. With the last of the oxygen in his lungs, he managed to mutter “...Good...kid…” Until the coldness took over his head too.  
  


He was gone.

\---------------------

Shadow winced, the coldness of both the serum and the metal he was resting against was gone. When his eyes opened, he very quickly figured out that he ‘wasn’t in Kansas anymore’ so to speak. The area surrounding him was...empty, it looked like a seemingly endless white void. There was a slight mist originating from the ground, in fact, the entire ground looked like someone had a smoke machine active on full blast, but only concentrated on a few centimetres off the floor. He ran a gloved hand through it, the mist was oddly warm, in a comforting sort of way. Just like...their hugs. Shadow then quickly examined himself noticing that all the wounds and scratches from his earlier fight with Eclipse were gone. In fact, every sign of fatigue, injury or anything of the sort was healed. His healing factor was good but not THAT good. Something else was going on.

“What the hell?” He mumbled to himself, before hearing something in the mist. Movement. Rapid movement. A silhouette ran circles around him, Shadow tried to catch a glimpse but all he could make out was that they are a Mobian. Instinctively Shadow reached for his pistol, only to find that not only was his holster empty, but he did not have one. Shadow sporadically looked around, trying to keep an eye on him. “Show yourself!” He demanded, trying to find its source. Shadow then heard whoever it was screech to a stop behind him. He quickly turned around, before he could even raise his fists, Shadow froze in his place. His heart skipped a beat and then began to act rapidly, Shadow felt his guts get all twisted and excitement build up inside him. Tears began to drip out of his eyes, just as he couldn’t believe them.  
  


He’s here.

After all this time.

He was right in front of him.

  
  


**_ “Ha! I’ve found you, Faker!” _ **


	7. Reunion

Shadow stood, his maw agape as he looked at the Mobian in front of him. Once dull light blue and grey hair had been replaced by vibrant, bright cobalt fur. The weak and tired eyes he watched the life drain out of, were replaced by the vibrant emerald green ones he fell in love with all those years ago. They showed him not an elder hedgehog on the brink of death, desperately clinging to the last few minutes of his life, but a hyperactive lover who was desperate for a race. His legs, at one point barely able to support him, were now more than capable of supporting the hedgehog. They frequently moved, like a caged animal desperate for freedom. He wore his white gloves and red shoes, the belt-like accessories which surrounded the trainers remained there. Resting on Sonic’s bare chest, were a set of dog tags identical to the ones Ivan gave him. Even down to the inscription: ‘Для самой быстрой вещи в живых. Sonic The Hedgehog.’

“Hey, Shads? You doing okay, look like you’ve seen a ghost-”

“Shut up.” Said Shadow, interrupting Sonic’s sarcastic remark.

“Huh?”

He backed away slightly, pointing at Sonic, his hand shaking as tears formed in his eye. “T...This is some kind of trick! How do I know you’re the real Sonic?!”

“Come on Shads, you’re smarter than this. It’s me! If you don’t believe me...then ask me stuff only the REAL Sonic would know.”

Shadow thought for a second, then something came to mind. “Where did we first meet?”

Sonic chuckled and rubbed the bottom of his nose using his index finger. “That’s an easy one, we met in Central City. Here, I’ll show you.” He waved his hand behind himself and a circular black portal appeared. Before Shadow could ask about what was happening, images began to form in the portal. 

\-----------

The faint sound of police sirens rang in the distance as SWAT cars rapidly attempted to respond to Sonic’s destruction of the GUN mech. Sonic panted slightly, a little out of breath for seemingly having to be on the move constantly for the past six hours. This was tiring even for him. The hedgehog looked back at the wreck of the GUN mech before doing a double-take, seeing a Black and Red hedgehog standing on top of it.

“What?” He asked himself in disbelief.

“It all starts with this…” Said the ebony hedgehog as he pulled a green Chaos Emerald out of his quills, “A jewel containing the ultimate power...”

Sonic approached, his hands tightening into fists. “That’s the...Chaos Emerald!” He began to approach the hedgehog slowly, “Now I know what’s going on!” Said Sonic, gaining the ebony one’s attention. “The military has mistaken ME for the likes of YOU! So...where do you think you’re going with that Emerald?” The ebony hedgehog’s view squinted as Sonic’s pacing towards him sped up. “Say something! You fake hedgehog!”

The aforementioned fake hedgehog tossed the Emerald in the air slightly before catching it and tightening his grip. “Chaos control!” The emerald glowed bright green before engulfing the Faker. He sped past Sonic, barely giving the Blue Blur enough time to turn around in awe.

“Wow...he’s fast!” He said in disbelief once he could look directly at him. “Hey, it’s not his speed! He must be using the Chaos Emerald to warp!” Sonic looked up at the edge of the rooftop this newcomer was standing on.

“My name is Shadow.” He revealed while tossing and catching the emerald in his hand, “I’m the world’s Ultimate Life Form. There’s no time for games...farewell.” The same flash of light of earlier engulfed Shadow, warping him away and causing Sonic to cover his eyes.

“Shadow...what is he-” Before Sonic could finish that thought, an army of GUN soldiers and drones surrounded him. Every spotlight, rifle and laser was trained on his position.

“Don’t move! Stay where you are! Keep your hands up in the air!”

\-----------

The portal closed, Sonic smirked. “That enough for you?”

“...That was an easy one.” He said in denial, Sonic had told that story enough times even Eggman would have memorised it by now. It wasn’t enough to be sure. “...When did I first fall for you?”

“Shadow-”

“DO IT!...Please...show me…”

“...Alright, it was in that frog filled jungle. After you lost your memory.”

The portal opened again

\-----------

Shadow stood on a large leaf, behind him were his ‘teammates’ the eccentric treasure hunter Rouge and the murderous robot Omega. It was easy to figure out which of the two he preferred. He looked over at the ground below and spotted three more people running down the naturally occurring path. A red echidna, a yellow twin-tailed fox and a blue hedgehog.

“Look, it’s that hedgehog…” Something about the blue one seemed familiar like he was...drawn to him. Shadow felt his heart rate increase, a fluttering in his chest and butterflies in his stomach. It was...indescribable. He wanted to walk down there, leapt in front of the hedgehog and just...be with him. To hold him in his arms, let his scent fill his nose and taste that neck of his. A soft...delectable little neck. Shadow felt his face go slightly red as Rouge began to talk.

“Wonder what the big rush is all about? Betcha those guys will end up getting in my way and making trouble.” Not long after she finished, the trio of ‘heroes’ spotted them.

“Hey isn’t that-”

“Sonic!”

Sonic tapped his chin, looking up at them curiously. He looked directly into Shadow’s eyes, making the feelings the Ultimate Life form felt increase. “Talk about being stubborn and full of surprises...”

Rouge placed a hand on her hip and responded with, “Long time no see, boys! Too bad you had to come all this way for nothing! We’ll take it from here.”

“What’d you say?” The echidna replied aggressively.

[Sensors locked on Eggman. Non-compliant intruders will be destroyed.]

Sonic smirked at them, “Hmm, didn’t you know? We have a date with Eggman too.” The world ‘date’ made Shadow jump slightly as the blush grow. He tried to hide it behind a witty response.

“Is that so…” It took all of Shadow’s power to stop himself from asking Sonic out on a date right there and then, or at least asking if he’s single. “Well then, it will be a date to DIE for!”

“Hey! That’s my line!” he yelled before charging towards Team Dark. Shadow smirked and charged towards him, hoping the coming fight could help clear his head.

\-----------

Once it closed, Sonic had more to say to Shadow. “At least, this is what you tell everyone. But I’m sure you started falling for me back on the ARK. Probably when you were literally falling.” He joked.

Shadow tried to stop the nervous shaking, it was becoming harder and harder to doubt this wasn’t the real deal. But, he knew one way to be sure...there was something only Sonic, Shadow, Shade and Ivan knew. Not even Tails knew this. If Sonic could replicate this perfectly...there would be no doubt left in his mind.

“...When was our first kiss?”

Sonic blushed and rubbed his quills, “It was the day you confessed that you loved me. That night...on the cliff.”

\-----------

Shadow sat on the cliff edge, his legs hung over the side as they moved slightly due to the wind. Shadow’s hands sat on his lap, his fingers twiddled as he waited. His crimson eyes looked out on the horizon, the night sky was illuminated by the eternal light bulbs that made up the solar system. The moon’s white light covered the landscape, giving a level of illumination to allow Shadow to see what was around him.

The sea was a dark blue colour, its waves and tides weakly advanced on the beach below, only to retreat all the same in an endless battle with the land. The sound and smell of the salty sea helped Shadow relax, his mind was racing with feelings and thoughts. As he heard the familiar rush of Sonic’s speed, his heart skipped a beat, his face went red and Shadow knew...today was the day.

Sonic skidded to a halt, sending small bits of dirt flying over the edge. “Hey, Shadow! What’s up? Practising your brooding poses?” Shadow looked over at him, an uncertain look on his face, he knew that if Sonic didn’t leave soon...he’d spill the beans. The Blue Blur meanwhile, joked at him, “Hmm...so your frown needs to be a bit more defined.” He chuckled as Shadow’s gaze returned to the sea. Sonic sat next to him, placing his hands behind his back to stabilize himself. “Shadow...what’s wrong?”

“...Feelings.”

“Woah there buddy, I didn’t realise they updated your software so soon.” Sonic chuckled but then Shadow looked over at him. “Shads?”

“Before you do anything...let me say what I have to say. Promise me, you’ll hear me out?” Shadow's hand moved slowly towards Sonic's, his fingers touching those of the Blue Blur.

Sonic blushed slightly and nodded, “Y...yes of course.”

Shadow closed his eyes and sighed. “...Ever since I saw you all those years ago...I’ve had this...feeling. I can’t shake it off, I’ve tried and tried to bury it, to destroy it. But it’s like a hydra, every time I think it’s gone it comes back stronger than ever. It’s as if...something is burning inside me, struggling to get free. It tries to get me to tackle you to the ground and hold you, to wrap my arms around you and...keep you safe.”

“Shadow, I-” Before Sonic could finish, Shadow pinned Sonic to the ground, holding his arms down and sitting on top of his waist. It was Sonic’s turn to go red.

“I’m not done.” He leaned in closer, his warm breath running along with Sonic’s fur. “The only thing that can alleviate these feelings...is you Sonic. I thought you had some...untapped psionic potential and that by fighting you...it could go away. But every time I hurt you, every successful hit, every time I tripped you up and every Chaos Spear...it hurt even more. As if my heart was cracking like a window having stones thrown at it. It got so bad that I could not even bear the thought of hurting you...so I kept throwing the fights we would get in. I realised that while you were the cause...it was not because of anything psionic, rather something else. Being around you seemed to be the only way to aleviate it. I don't mean just...standing next to you I mean talking, playing games and spending time with you. Then I realised what it was...it was love. Sonic The Hedgehog, you stupid, stubborn, cocky Faker...I...I...” Shadow held back the tears that formed in his eyes, as this feeling he described reached a critical mass. “I love you!” He finally yelled out. Sonic’s face went red out of shock as he tried to form words. But before a full sentence could come out, Shadow gently placed a finger on his lips. “Before you respond...let me give you a taste...of what comes from being with me.”

Sonic felt Shadow’s lips touch his own, Sonic twitched in shock before letting out muffled noises of confusion. That built-up feeling in his heart finally dissipated, like when the pressure is relieved in a pipe without it bursting. Shadow kissed deeply, his hand reached up and stroked Sonic’s top quill causing a purr to escape from the cobalt blue hedgehog. Sonic at first tensed up, wiggling to try and get Shadow off him, but then he started to relax. It was like he was sharing his enjoyment with Sonic. His body soon relaxed as he wrapped his arms around Shadow, his tail wagging happily. After a few minutes of kissing, Shadow broke away looking down at Sonic.

“S...Shadow...I…”

“I wonder,” he said with a smirk, “is that neck of yours sensitive?” He leaned in and kissed Sonic’s neck, making the Blue Blur turn into a red blushy mess. Shadow moaned as he licked and gently nibbled on Sonic’s neck, a smirk formed on his face. “Mmm…” he purred as Sonic’s face continued to glow red.

“Shadow...p...please...d...do...don't stop…” The Ultimate Life form chuckled as he kept kissing and licking Sonic’s neck, making the Blue Blur squirm eagerly. Shadow’s purrs and moans were soon buried by Sonic who gently stroked his head. They didn’t care if anyone saw them, these two hedgehogs simply wanted to enjoy this moment. After what felt like hours, Sonic gently pushed Shadow’s head, his arms like jelly as he tried to move them. Shadow’s actions having completely sapped his strength. “T...That’s...e...enough.” The Ultimate Life form reluctantly complied and stopped, giving Sonic a quick peck on the lips before laying next to him.

“So...how’s the preview?” He asked Sonic with a light chuckle.

“...I’m...ready to...start a subscription…” Sonic managed to weakly say, “Shadow...I love you.”

Shadow smiled, grabbing Sonic’s hand, their fingers interlocking. “I love you too.”

\-----------

Once this portal closed, Shadow’s eyes looked over at Sonic, tears poured out as he slowly walked over. “S...Sonic...it’s...it’s you…” He cupped Sonic’s cheek in his hand, as the Blue Blur’s hand gripped his.

“The one and only.” He too began to cry, a smile formed on his face as he looked Shadow in the eyes. The Ultimate Life form’s crimson eyes met his, falling in love with them all over again. Shadow immediately wrapped his arms around Sonic, holding him as tight as possible. Like a mother would hold their newborn child. He began to sob quietly, burying his face in Sonic’s shoulder, as the two ended up on their knees. Sonic lovingly stroked the back of his head, quietly whispering into his ear. “Don’t worry...it’s okay...I’m here.” As the rivers of tears began to dry up, Shadow looked into his lover's eyes.

“A...After all this time. I’ve...I’ve missed you Sonic...I want to-”

“I know Shadow, I’ve missed you too.” The pair stood up as Shadow smiled, really smiled for the first time in a century. He grabbed Sonic’s hand, immediately his mind raced with questions.

“I waited...so long to be up here with you!...I am...UP here right?”

“Up here Shads.” He smiled, “You made it.” Shadow smiled at this news, finally, after all this time he could be with Sonic!

“What about Maria? Tails? Rouge-”

“They’re all there too, Shadow.” The Ultimate Life form smiled, frantically, he began to look for a way in.

“Come on then. Take me to the gates! I have...so much I want to do and say now that-” As he tried to get Sonic to follow him, the hedgehog pulled his hand away.

“That’s the thing Shadow...you...can’t come with me.” In that moment, Shadow’s heart sunk. All that hope and joy was shattered in a single moment.

“W...What? Why?! You said I made it!”

“You did Shadow but...now is not your time.”

“I don’t...I don’t understand.”

“Shadow...the world still needs you. You can’t come with me until the world is safe.”

“B...But the world is safe!” he said, as tears formed again. ”The Black Arms are dead!”

“There are things out there...things worse than the Black Arms...that are just waiting for you to be dead before they strike-”

“ **BUT I DON’T WANT TO!** ” Shadow fell to his knees, tears flowing out of his eyes. “ **ONE HUNDRED YEARS SONIC! YOU’VE BEEN GONE FOR ONE HUNDRED YEARS! EVERYDAY I WAKE UP I WANT YOU BY MY SIDE! I WANT TO HOLD YOU IN THE MORNING AND NUZZLE YOUR QUILLS!** I want to follow the smell of chilidogs to the kitchen and find you gorging on a whole plate as breakfast!...” The sobbing increased, he gripped the ground as his tears formed small puddles near him. “I...I can’t...I can’t do this anymore. I don’t have the will for it...almost everyone I've cared about is dead; Maria, Omega, you...you've all left me...while I just go on...and on...I’ve prayed for a hundred years for this moment and I am NOT giving it up! I’ve served the world more than enough! I’VE EARNED THIS SONIC! SOMEONE ELSE CAN DO IT...I just...I want to be with you Sonic. I NEED you! Please. I’m begging you...let me go with you...so we can be together again...” He cried loudly, closing his eyes as he heard Sonic walk over. He knelt down and held Shadow, rubbing his head.

“...I know Shadow. Please understand...I want to be with you to. I've watched you almost every day from up here and seeing you like that...like this...it hurts that I can’t help you. But you promised you’d protect the world, that you’d look after it for me. Not just me, you promised Maria too!”

“...But I’ve done that for so long. I want it to be over...”

“...As do I Shadow, but you can’t just leave the world unguarded. What about Shade?” Shadow looked up at Sonic upon hearing their son’s name. “He got the chance to say goodbye to me. To be there. But...he didn’t get that with you. What happened to you will happen to him...and I don’t think he’ll handle it as well as you can.”

“...But if I go back, I won’t be able to die again...I will never be able to be with you...I’ll...never see you again.”

“Of course you will Shadow. When the time is right, you’ll pass on.”

“But when? I’ve been so patient for so long...how long do I have to wait?!”

“I don’t know Shadow, could be tommorow, could be in a decade...or in a century, but you’ll know it when it’s time. But I promise...I’ll be right here waiting for you.” Shadow held onto Sonic tightly, taking in a breath of his scent before kissing him. The Blue hedgehog formed a portal behind Shadow. “...That’s your ticket home.”

Shadow stood up and wiped away the tears, he looked at the portal and saw Shade crying over his corpse. Ivan had placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him. He sighed, “...Meet me on the cliff.”

He smiled, “I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Sonic ran over and kissed Shadow, they held it for several minutes. Tears flowed down both of their faces as they released centuries worth of emotions in that one kiss. But alas, their lips were forced to part. “...I love you.”

“I love you too...Faker.” Shadow reluctantly let go of Sonic’s hand, walking towards the portal. Once he was mere inches from it, he turned to look back at Sonic one last time.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**_ Then he walked through _ **


	8. Epilogue

_ **150 years later** _

  
  


Shadow stood in his bedroom, looking out the window as Shade and Ivan arrived in the latter's car. The sunlight leaked into the room, illuminating his dark fur. His bed had been properly made up, the covers were warm, his pillows fluffy and the mattress was brand new. The radio on his nightstand reported on the defeat of another world-dominating villain thanks to Shade, the media praised the veteran hero now. With a content smile on his face, he looked over at the table next to his bed as a small document rested on it. Carefully, Shadow walked over and signed it.

His will and testament.

Shadow heard the door open as Shade and Ivan ran into the room. Both had looks of worry on their faces.

“Dad?! What’s wrong?”

He turned around and smiled, “...Today is the day.”

“Y...You mean-”

“I will not see the sunrise in the morning, tomorrow...I will be with Sonic.” Shadow looked over at the pair, seeing the worry in their eyes.

“Brother...are you sure?”

“I can feel it in my bones.” Shadow sat back in bed, about to lay down before Shade placed a hand on his shoulder.

“B...But Dad...you can’t! I’m not ready!”

Shadow chuckled and laid down, pulling the duvet over himself. “You do not give yourself enough credit. Shade, you’re more than ready for my line of work. You and I have saved this world dozens of times. Even when I can’t help, you are a hell of a fighter and have more than enough heart to be a hero.”

“W...what if I fight something I can’t kill! Something only you can defeat.”

“If such a creature exists that only I can kill, you will find an alternative...you’re a smart lad Shade, I know you will figure it out. If you ever need guidance, Ivan has more wisdom than I could ever impart on you.”

“Dad...I just...I don’t know what will happen. Can’t you stay for a little longer?” Shadow smiled and held Shade’s hand.

“I’m sorry but...I will not be here much longer.” Shade hugged Shadow, burying his face in his chest. He moved back and they looked into each other’s eyes, “You have...his eyes.” Shadow smiled at him as Shade nodded, “...They were my favourite part of him.”

“You sure it wasn’t his eclectic personality or that defined ass of his?”

Shadow chuckled, coughing slightly as he looked over at Ivan. “Heh...yep...be careful, my body is barely holding together as it is.”

Shade sniffed slightly as tears began to form, “I...I’m going to miss you Dad.”

“I know Shade. I’ll miss you too.”

Shade let go, wiping the tears away. “T...tell papa I said Hi. All right?”

“I promise.” He smiled before looking over at Ivan, “You’ve not said much, brother. Everything okay?”

“...Actions speak louder than words, Shadow.”

“I suppose they do.” Shadow felt his body become cold and weak as it got ready to pass on. “S...Shade?”

“Yes, Dad?”

“...No matter what happens...know...that I’m proud of you...I love you son.”

“I love you too Dad.” Shade gave his father one final peck on the forehead, as if it were the kiss of death, Shadow’s eyes sealed shut and his breathing stopped. Shade stood up, sobbing quietly as he tried to wipe away the tears, hoping to contain his emotions...this day was going to come. Shadow made that clear...but nothing can prepare you for seeing your Dad die...even seeing it twice. As much as he wished it wasn’t...it was over.  
  


**He was gone**

\--------------

The pair stood on the graveyard once more, this time to bury someone. There were no words, no speeches, Shadow was always a sucker for simplicity. After god knows how long, Shadow’s gravestone was installed directly next to Sonic's. Unlike his lover, Shadow had no empty grave in the city, no great monument dedicated solely to him. Only ones shared with Sonic. Shadow’s work, though often praised, did not often warrant national attention and the few times it did he made it clear he wanted no monuments erected to him. Shade never fully understood why, but he thought it may have been for the same reason there were no statues of Ivan in, what once was, Russia. Regret. Regret over nearly destroying the world, of breaking so many promises...and not being there for his son. The two remaining immortals looked down at Shadow’s gravestone, to forever stand next to Sonic. It simply read:

Here Lies Shadow The Hedgehog

Saviour of the world, adored father, purest of heart

And the Ultimate Lifeform

1951-2337

Ivan gently placed a hand on Shade’s shoulder, their ears lowered. “Take care brother...my mother is going to love you.”

Shade crouched down and placed flowers on the grave, before kissing the tombstone himself. “If you can hear me dad...I’m sorry you suffered for so long, I did my best to help but...I was not strong enough. I’ll be honest, I’m not sure I’m strong enough to take your place, even after helping out I just feel...under-qualified. But I promised I’d protect this world, just like you did for Papa and Aunt Maria. I won’t rest until the world is permanently safe! Heh, who knows...maybe I’ll meet that Silver guy you told me about.” He slowly stood up, turning towards his uncle, “Ivan...let’s...head back…” The elder hedgehog nodded, gesturing for him to follow. “Think you’ll join Dad any time soon?”

“...Perhaps. But it won’t be for a while. It is not yet my time to die.” As the pair turned around, they saw someone approach the small graveyard, they seemed to be fairly bulky with each step they took being quite loud as the chainmail and armour he wore rubbed against each other. “Is he wearing a Knight’s armour?” Thought Ivan. The shadow of the trees concealed his face as Ivan gripped the handle of his katana. “Leave this place. It is a place of mourning and private property. So leave us to be! Or at least identify yourself!” The figure stopped, a deep chuckle came out of his throat.

“You always were such a noble man, Sebastion.” The figure stepped into the light and revealed himself, a smirk on his face.

“L...Leon?”

“Kept you waiting, huh?”

\--------------

Shadow’s eyes shifted as he felt the warmth from his previous arrival to this location. He woke up to see a large dark silhouette looming over him, out of instinct, he got up and assumed a battle position. Had he done something wrong? Were the demons here to devour his soul? Well, he wasn’t going to give it up without a-

[Perhaps if you were a bit more patient you could have awoken in a more relaxed state.] Shadow immediately relaxed upon recognising that voice.

“O...Omega!” He immediately ran over and embraced the machine, his arms not even able to wrap around his waist. Shadow’s cheek pressed against the cold metal. “I knew you had a soul!”

[Came in the last software upgrade I suppose, along with Bluetooth functionality.]

Shadow chuckled, “Seems you’ve got a sense of humour now.”

[Affirmative.] He gently patted Shadow’s back, [Now you must follow me. They’re waiting for you.]

Shadow nodded releasing the Eggman robot, the pair turned towards a tall golden pair of gates that opened up proudly. The glow behind it nearly blinded Shadow, Omega ushered him to stand behind the shade provided by his chassis. [The light can be blinding for most. I will make sure it doesn’t.]

“Hey Omega, why were you out here?”

[...I was waiting for you. Sonic asked me to.]

“Sonic? Can I see him-”

[Slow down, Shadow...I think the others would like to see you first.] Shadow heard their footsteps make contact with sand. Upon looking down, indeed he saw goldern, shiny sand beneath them with each footstep caused a small imprint in the ground.

“But I...heh...you know what?... Yeah, I should. No harm in that.”

[Good, we’re here.] Omega stopped moving and grabbed Shadow, placing him in front of himself. The beach itself looked like something from Fiji or Hawaii, fresh palm trees, clear blue sea water and sparkling sands...it was the perfect beach. Shadow looking in front of himself and saw...a beach party. He was in shock, almost everyone was here. Knuckles was operating a grill, flipping burgers with a spatula, the smell of cooked meat filled the air and entered Shadow’s nose. Last time he saw Knuckles, the Echidna was stubbornly living on Angel Island in a small hut. Tails was performing some advanced form of engineering on the Tornado, as Silver and Blaze called for him to join them in the cool seawater. (To which Tails assured them that he'd be 'right with them'.) Rouge and Amy relaxed, taking in some sun hoping to gain a tan. Some of the last memories of his friends flooded in; Tails cutting the ribbon at the Miles Institute of Engineering mere days before his death, Rouge’s futile efforts to hide her age, Silver assuring Shadow his efforts have secured the bright future he desperately wanted, Amy being the maid of honour at his wedding and Blaze’s retirement from fighting the forces of evil. But now...it was like they hadn’t aged a day.

[I have acquired my target!] Called out Omega, Rouge looked over and lifted her sunglasses before forming a smile on her face.

“Why hello sugar! Welcome to our slice of heaven. Literally.” She chuckled as Amy looked over at Shadow, smiling, before turning to the others.

“Hey, guys! Shadow’s here!”

Knuckles looked over and hung up the spatula, making his way over. “Hey, Shadow! We’ve missed you, buddy!” He walked over and gave him a gentle punch on the shoulder, Shadow froze slightly, before rubbing where Knuckles hit.

“K...Knuckles?...You’re-”

“I know you’ve got a lot of say, but don’t worry about it all right? We’ve got all the time in the world. I’m just working on the grill! Come and have a bite.” Knuckles walked back to the barbecue, Shadow followed with that same dumbfounded look on his face. Upon reaching the grill, he gestured for the hedghog to stand still. “Okay stay right there, yours is nearly done.” As Knuckles put the finishing touches on the burger, Rouge flew over and patted Omega’s shoulder.

“At long last Team Dark is back again!”

[Affirmative.]

The bat hugged Shadow next, “...We’ve missed you Shadow. I can’t overstate how happy we are that you’re here!”

Silver floated over, his body glowing with a light blue aura as he approached Shadow. “Yeah! I’m happy to see that you and Shade have done such a good job! Now that you’re here, it can be like old times again!” Knuckles nodded in agreement as he offered Shadow a burger. The Ultimate Lifeform looked at the burger before taking it. He simply stared at it as he held it in his hands, for a few seconds there was an awkward silence.

“Shadow?” Asked the Echidna, “You alright buddy?” He gently placed a hand on Shadow’s shoulder. The Ultimate Lifeform looked up at Knuckles, before tears formed in his eyes as he hugged him. Shadow dropped the burger, (though Silver used his powers to save it and put it on a plate.) He gripped onto Knuckles, crying loudly into his shoulder.

“...I can’t...believe it’s you guys. I...It’s been...so long...I...I’ve missed you all!” He looked around at the others. “A...and the first thing you do is...hand me a burger?” He said with an awkward chuckle and he wiped away the tears.

“It’s just how we work Shadow.” Responded Silver with a smile.

“Yeah, we just...want you to feel comfortable and happy. We weren’t sure what to do when you arrived so...we thought we’d treat you to a little party. It’s not that we don’t care or anything, we just didn’t think you’d want us all to tackle hug you.”

Shadow sniffed and smiled, “You’re the greatest friends I could ever have...now give me a fucking hug!” The group immediately wrapped their arms around the Ultimate Lifeform who did his best to hug back. His cries of happiness spread to the others, they were happy to be reunited after over two centuries of separation. “Wait...what made you think I’d like a party?”

We...had a little help.” They all looked at someone behind Shadow, the hedgehog turned around and the waterworks began once again.

“M...Maria?” Shadow was once again in shock, the young girl he could call family stood in front of him. She had that innocent happy smile on her face, her eyes easily broke down any negative feeling that remained in Shadow’s mind. Her blonde hair moved slightly in the wind as her band kept it from running while. Her dress remained the same one she wore all those years ago. WIth a long light blue skirt and a darker blue top half. The young girl smiled at Shadow as tears of happiness formed in her eyes to match Shadow’s.

“Shadow...it’s you!” She ran over and embraced the hedgehog, gently stroking his quills in such a way to not get pricked by his spines (something only those with experience can manage.) Shadow for his part also embraced her, albeit much slower. His arms wrapped around her tightly, Shadow buried his muzzle in her shoulder sobbing into it quietly. He mumbled apology after apology, begging for forgiveness after he tried to destroy the world. The young girl looked Shadow in the eyes and smiled, gently stroking his head. “It was not your fault Shadow. You were being tricked and manipulated, I know there were good intentions in your heart...but you’ve more than made up for it.”

“You mean...you forgive me, Maria?”

“More than that Shadow...I am proud of you.” As tears flowed from the pair, they embraced, before Maria gestured for everyone else to join in. Any outside observer would see a large Mobian group hug with one human at the centre and a large robot out the outside along with the hedgehogs and what nought. “Shadow...I have so much more I want to say and I’m sure you do too, but...there is someone who wants to see you...and I’m sure you want to as well.” They all looked over at a nearby cliff, where Shadow recognised a cobalt blue shape resting on it. Without another word, Shadow was released and he slowly walked towards it.

“We’ll keep your burger warm!” Said Knuckles as the Ultimate Lifeform smiled and walked towards his lover. As he got closer, the surroundings morphed into a sunny beach but rather a calm cliffside in the death of night with a glowing full moon as a light source. His footsteps no longer shifted sand but instead crushed grass. As the hedgehog got closer, the finer details of his lover became clear, as the surroundings perfectly replicated the site of their first kiss. With a happy smile on his face, Shadow sat next to Sonic. The two simply stared off into the distance.

“Took you long enough, faker.” Joked Sonic.

Shadow smiled, “Well you did insist that I train Shade personally, takes a lot out of the day. He says Hi by the way.”

“I can imagine.” Sonic’s hand moved slowly towards Shadow’s before gripping it, their fingers interlocking. “...You were what was missing, you know.”

“Hmm?”

Sonic sniffed as a tear formed in his eye, “From this place. I could have anything I wanted but...I desired you. And now...you’re here, at long last.” He turned to look into Shadow’s eyes, "It really is heaven now." The formerly immortal hedgehog smirked and pinned Sonic to the ground, looming over him with a smile on his face.

“...We’ve got more than two hundred years of loving to catch up on. And I intend to cash it.”

“That you have Shadow...that you have.” The pair immediately pressed their lips against each other wrapping up in their arms as they passionately expressed their love. Sonic ran his hands up Shadow’s back as Shadow stroked Sonic’s fluffy cheeks and scratched his cheek. Their tails wagged as the very first night of passion was replicated almost perfectly, right down to the very same feelings they felt. To those on the beach, it looked like they were simply embracing, but both those down there and the loving couple up there had the same thinking. The beach party could wait, Shadow and Sonic deserved some time together...just the two of them. The men's faces when red as they kissed constantly for seemingly hours, (but could very well have been days) until Shadow moved down to Sonic’s neck. Kissing and chewing it, making Sonic shiver and purr as his body was finally able to receive the attention it craved for so long. But they eventually had to stop, they got up, holding each other's hands.

“Come on Shadow...let’s go see the others, they’re probably dying to hear from the both of us.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“Wanna race there?”

“Wait what-”

“321GO!” Sonic sped down the hill in a bright blue streak.

“Hey! That’s cheating!” Shadow followed Sonic in a streak of black and red.

Yes, time was a cruel mistress.

  
  
Time had slowly taken away the one he loved.

  
  
Made his love rot in front of him as he stayed, eternal.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


_**But Shadow was too stubborn for her to deal with any longer.** _


End file.
